Page 88 [spoiler]here, here! All my fans and fellow writers, gather with me to reject the complaints! BUNGIE doesn’t care if we write here, and we’re having fun and showing the world our story! [i]Our stories ARE part of the lore,[/i] because we are the players! We are the guardians! Now prepare for another mess of story from your favorite bug hugger 😘 [/spoiler] Shadow can feel her heart in her throat as she presents the offering. This is her third try. Tension crackles in the air around her like lightning as the Oracle engine moves— and a door opens.      Brilliant white light shines into the hunter's eyes. Relief washes over her in waves. Letting out a sigh, she closes them.      Glitch hovers over her shoulder, silent.      "Come on..." she mutters, leading the way inside. Anxiety rebuilds in her chest.      After taking only a few steps into the Queen's court, she stops, awestruck by the blaze of starlight streaked across the skyline, the silence that allows her to hear every breath, every heartbeat. Its tranquil beauty stirs her awoken blood.      Glitch moves past her, glances back, waiting.      With a deep breath, Shadow approaches the Queen, sitting cross-legged on her throne.    She's done it— and now, she'll finally have answers. "My Queen—" Shadow's steps falter when the voice of none other than Mara Sov rings out around her.      "So... you know how to rule, do you?"      Shadow's heart drops into the pit of her stomach. Confidence drains along with the color from her face.      "You understand the sacrifices I make?"      Shadow can barely open her mouth to stutter, utterly taken aback— until she notices Mara's intense blue gaze is not resting on herself, but rather, her ghost.      She gestures to him with a delicate hand. "You speak of good queens and absent rulers, little light, so you must know these things," she says, sharp with anger.      Shadow looks at Glitch. Where was his judgment now? His questioning?      "Tell me what I have done wrong." Mara's eyes flick from ghost to awoken and back again. Her head tilts in mock curiosity, allowing a long moment of silence to drag out between them. [b][i]"SPEAK!" [/i][/b]      Her outburst makes the hunter jump. The court seems to blur and tilt around her with the force of it.      "[i]What[/i] should I do, when my every action is in service of a future that benefits YOU?" The Queen shakes her head. "You do not know me, or the things I do. Do not [i]dare[/i] to presume. You have not earned the right."      Finding her voice amidst her panic, Shadow finally speaks. "My Queen, forgive him, he— he didn't know what he was saying—"      "Get out of my sight," Mara demands abruptly. She waves a hand, dismissing her visitor's words.      Desperate, Shadow takes a pace foward, golden eyes beseeching. "Mara— please, I've waited so long to speak with you, I—"      "Get out." Fierce glowing eyes penetrate the hunter, freezing her in place.      She dares not take another step. Her heart plummets to her feet. "Yes, my Queen..." the words are hardly more than a whisper.      Subdued, Shadow bows before turning away. Her eyes mist over; her return feels like the longest walk of her life.      With a heavy heart, Shadow throws a last glance over her shoulder at Mara Sov. Words dry on her tongue. Mara's cold eyes hadn't left her. She turns away once more, and strides through the portal.